Essay On Gender And Natural Resources

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Gender and Natural resources

Boaz Mandula

Introduction
Natural resources provide a wide range of goods and services that support life on earth. In most developing countries, many people depend on natural resources for their food and livelihoods. Unfortunately however, this natural resource lifeline appears to be deteriorating significantly as a result of unsustainable consumption and use. Soil fertility depletion, deforestation, water scarcities, loss of biodiversity, frequent natural disasters and land use change are some of the immediate negative consequences of this unsustainable consumption. According to the Food Agriculture Organization, most at risk are over 1.3 billion men and women who are subsistence farmers, fishers, hunters and gatherers and agricultural wage workers whose livelihoods depend on availability of usable land, water, and plant and animal species. (FAO, 2004). This therefore calls for the need to introduce measures that can help in reversing the current trends in natural resource use. In pursuing this goal, the need to understand how men and women in communities relate to each other and how these relations influence use of natural resources becomes paramount. This paper discusses the gender dimensions of natural resources and explores how these affect sustainable utilization and management.

Why Gender in Natural Resource Management
It is widely accepted in existing literature on gender and natural resources that exploitation of natural resources by rural communities is differentiated by gender. (Fonjong, 2008; Gurung et al 2000; Byers and Sainju 1994; FAO 2004.) Gender is defined in literature as the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male or female and the relationships that exis...

... middle of paper ...

..., 1993.) It therefore becomes crucial to always consider the roles, knowledge, needs and contributions of both men and women to natural resource management.

Gender issues in NRM
Although roles and responsibilities for men and women are conceptualized differently across cultures, the key gender issues related to natural resources management tend to follow similar patterns. The following section discusses some of these issues.

Roles, responsibilities and knowledge
As pointed out earlier, men and women have different tasks and responsibilities both within the household and community. These varying tasks and responsibilities often translate into different needs, priorities and concerns. (FAO 2004.) For example, with livestock management, engage in looking after cattle and larger animals while women tend to care for smaller animals such as poultry and small ruminants.

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